Hello, Philly!
Hello, Philly! is the second story in the Grey Menace chapters. Characters Main Characters * Philomena Develsbourne * Eleanor Mangkoedimedjo Supporting Characters * Matilda Willem * Erna Lubis * Sumirna Armanto * Hilda Oenger * Maya Hapsari * Otong * Iting * Nek Imah * Lusinda Sucipto * Minah MIntarsih * Ida Sucipto * Wanto Sucipto * Soemar Sucipto * Hugo Willem * Anneke Bellringer * Prabowo Mangkoedimedjo * Jan Willem * Adela Willem * Devlin Willem * Gavin Willem * Peter Sputer * Miranda Sucipto Plot The Party The story begins with a flashback to 1970, with the young Philomena Develsbourne, her late sister Matilda Willem, and their friends Erna Lubis, Sumirna Armanto, Hilda Oenger, and the late Maya Hapsari, all playing cards and chatting in the front porch of the Van Haji House. They all discuss their future plans, be it in marriage, education, or work. Later in the evening, Phil talks quietly with Mimi in her bedroom about wanting to leave Paterosari because she could not stand being suffocated by her mother Eleanor Mangkoedimedjo, telling Mimi of her plans to move back to Jakarta. In the morning, as Eleanor prepares for breakfast with the housekeeper Iting and the elderly cook Nek Imah, she tells Phil that she plans to send Phil off to her aunt Coralea Schuyler's house in Boca Raton, Florida, so that she can get away from what suffocates her. Returning to the present, to celebrate Phil's homecoming, Lusinda Sucipto has planned a party for Phil by inviting their relatives, friends, and neighbors, especially those that hadn't met her since she left in 1972. During the preparations, Phil bonds with Minah Mintarsih the housekeeper over the issues of domestic help. They are soon interrupted by the arrival of Ida Sucipto, Wanto Sucipto's meddling mother, and Wanto's father Soemar Sucipto, who begins to terrorize Lusi and Ua over the food. Next to arrive was Erna, followed by Hilda, and a rather late Mimi (despite being nearby). Some of the guests suggest Phil to sing something for them, and so she sings Hello, Dolly! by descending from the staircase. Phil then experiences a flashback of her leaving for Cirebon, to go on the train to Jakarta and then to the US. After saying goodbye to Tilly, her husband Hugo Willem, the young Anneke Bellringer and Lusi, her friends, and the house staff, her mother kisses her goodbye rather brusquely and tells her that she can't take her to Cirebon as she's got a dance class to teach, leaving Phil to be taken to Cirebon by her father Prabowo Mangkoedimedjo and her friends. Mimi notes that things will never be the same without Phil to be there for them, and so Phil reminds Mimi and the others that she will be back soon enough. Back in the present, as the guests leave, Phil says goodbye to Jan Willem, Anne and Lusi's younger brother, along with his wife Adela Willem, and their sleepy children, Devlin Willem and Gavin Willem, who live just next door at the cottage behind the house. When all of the guests have left, she found Peter Sputer, the family's longtime neighbor who Phil babysat when they were younger, at the back porch. Noting that it's a hot evening, Phil suggests they eat some popsicles and they do so while sitting on the steps at the back porch. They talk about their lives and Peter shares with Phil the pain of losing a spouse (his wife Emerald Sputer had passed on several years ago). Peter notes that it's lovely to have her back, saying that Paterosari felt different without her, and Phil responds that life was rather meaningless away from Paterosari, especially after her husband Philip Develsbourne passed away. The Aftermath The next morning, Phil decides to explore the house to see what's changed. She comes upon her late sister's bedroom (now a guest bedroom) and finds her old clothes in the closet as well as several photo albums. Miranda Sucipto notices her great aunt and enters the bedroom to reminisce with Phil about her late grandmother. Phil confesses that she felt guilty not coming to her sister's funeral, but she said that it was Tilly's wish for Phil not to come in the event of her funeral, as Phil was in the middle of a divorce at that time. She paid her respects to Tilly and other family members after Maya's funeral several days ago. Phil tells Mira that she and Tilly last spoke a day before her death, and there were no signs (even though she had been suffering from emphysema and lung disease for several years at point). Mira tells Phil that it was her and her mother that found Tilly's body, and that nothing out of the ordinary happened except for the sound of a plaintive cuckoo bird that Mira had been hearing for several days (a known omen of death in Indonesia), and that Tilly died a few hours after an argument with Lusi over her medical care. She tells Mira of how she and Tilly were when they were younger and how they planned to be a pair of performing sisters. Things changed when Tilly decided to marry right out of high school and Phil went off to college. Mira asks Phil if her grandmother regretted having married so soon, and though Phil says that it's likely, she also says that there are a lot of things that they don't know or understand and that it's not necessary to dwell on what-could-have-beens. Phil then decides to take a walk with Mira through the village to see at what's changed. Phil notes that things have remained relatively the same since she left, as if the village stood still for over 40 years. The Settling Phil then goes upstairs to talk to her mother, who is bird-watching in the rumpus room. She tells her of her guilt over not coming home for her sister's funeral, and Moes tells Phil the same thing that Tilly told her. When Phil notes this, Moes decides to end the conversation and tries to leave, but Phil tugs on her blouse (as she did when she was to leave to the US in 1970). Moes notes that though they are both old women now, Phil has always been so physically strong, and Phil adds that her mother is still a hard-headed woman. Phil asks her mother to sit and she asks her why for 40 years she has never allowed her to come home, and instead her mother and the family would visit Phil wherever she was. Though resisting, Moes finally answers: for all these years, she had kept her daughter on the loosest leash. She had overheard the conversation between her and Mimi in 1970 about being suffocated by her and that broke her heart. She tells Phil that she never received a book of instructions on childcare as Phil and Tilly were her first and she had children when she was 18, and that she tried her best to be the best mother. She knew that Phil wanted to see the world and so she let her go, also because she didn't want Phil to be like her sister Tilly, who was fooled by the bliss of an early marriage into domesticity, or herself. Phil knows that her mother had probably waited many years to say this, and was happy because her mother was able to overlook her pride. She embraces her mother and tells her that she loves her, to which Moes responds with a pat on the shoulder and decides to leave the room. Phil comes to Moes' bedroom and sits next to her in bed and talks to her about her day. She states her frustrations at her friends: Mimi is agoraphobic, Erna is high-strung, and Hilda is escaping from a lot of things. She tells Moes that even though she has married three times, she has sorted out everything and has never left anything unfinished. Moes reminds her that the only thing she has left unfinished was her life in Paterosari, and that if something is not to her liking, then she should try and change it. Phil smiles and kisses her mother goodnight. She then goes to the parlor and puts on the record that she and her sister recorded, Angsa Kembar (Twin Swans) and listens to the first track, Perjalanan Kehidupan (Life's Journey). Category:Stories